100 Immigration officials transferred Arrests coming soon - Mlandvo

turned back at the KMIII International Airport at Sikhuphe.

Communications Officer Mlandvo Dlamini, when engaged by this publication, was quick to state that there was nothing sinister about the re-deployments and transfers which affected solely the Immigration Department. “Yes, most of the Home Affairs staff has been re-deployed into other posts and I must point it out that staff rotation is part of the ministry’s housekeeping measures. However, staff rotation has for a long time proved to be a deterrent to corruption practices within the civil service,” clarified Dlamini.

The Ministry of Home Affairs is yet to complete its internal investigations into the e-visa scandal and heads are expected to roll.

The communications officer revealed that soon the ministry would compile a report on the findings of the internal investigations and would be announced through the media in the coming weeks. “The internal investigations are at the final stages, we will, in due course divulge details,” Dlamini pointed out.

The effected staff rotations and re-deployments, according to well-placed sources, paved a way for the internal investigation in the illegal issuance of over 2000 visas to foreign nationals and Simelane said that no one had been charged yet.

MBABANE – Communications Officer in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Mlandvo Dlamini made it clear that some immigration officials will soon be guests of His Majesty’s Correctional Services.

Dlamini stated that the rotations and the re-deployments were not punishment, but that punitive measures would be applied in a few weeks as the report of the findings of the internal investigations will be handed to the Royal Eswatini Police Service. “This was not a toothless internal investigation, but some people will definitely be arrested and charged for being implicated in the e-visa scandal,” he said.

Previously, former Chief Immigration Officer Makhosi Simelane disclosed to this publication that the e-visas were illegally granted by some immigration officials, who connived with police officials and the foreign nationals to flout the process. Well-placed sources have told this publication that the implicated immigration officials allegedly pocketed huge sums of money in processing the e-visas.

According to the sources, some officials are said to have not only pocketed monies, but also got cars as gifts from the foreign nationals, who were desperate to come into Eswatini. These, however, remain allegations until the Ministry of Home Affairs completes the internal investigations. In an earlier interview, the former chief immigration officer did point out that the cancellation would not end with the 2 000 visas, as they wanted to totally eradicate any element of corruption associated with the processing of such documents. Most of the foreigners from these countries use the King Mswati III (KMIIII) International Airport to enter the country.

The Ministry of Home Affairs went to an extent of sending a communique to the KMIII International Airport manager, dated April 14, 2022, containing the list of some of the foreign nationals who were expected to arrive, yet their visas had been revoked due to their illegality. As a result of this sudden cancellation, most of the foreign nationals were not allowed to enter the country and subsequently deported.

Most of the foreign nationals who were turned back at the airport, Simelane said, had only one-way flight tickets instead of return tickets, as stipulated by the international travelling polices between countries.

The foreign nationals having one-way tickets created a burden at the airport for the police and the immigration officials as they ended up being stranded, as government had no funds available for their deportation.

Impeccable sources revealed that these then prompted the revocation of the 2 000 visas for the foreign nationals. Further, it was gathered that, the granting of over 2 000 e-visas at once, allegedly by the immigration officials, was what raised the alarm. This, according to our sources, occurred at a time when the then chief immigration officer was on leave.

The ministry is said to be in effort to try and communicate with foreign nationals who are enlisted in the list of cancelled visas, so as to stop them from leaving their native countries. It has also been established that the enlisted foreign nationals who have had their visas revoked, were in Eswatini before the world was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and decided to return to their native countries immediately when government announced plans for a lockdown.